The 2026-2027 Malinaukas Labor Government budget closes the gap between what has been budgeted in recent years to care for children and young people in care and what it has actually cost.
$85.1 million resourcing to child protection over four years
The Government announced an additional $85.1m resourcing to Child Protection over 4 years. This additional funding is approximately the equivalent of the shortfall between budgeted costs and actual costs between 2025-2026 budget and the actual costs in 2024-2025.
The additional resources will support the implementation of South Australia’s Children and Young People (Safety and Support) Act, 2025. The Act places the voices of children and young people at the centre of how children and young people are cared for when in care. CREATE Young Consultants are really active in this work, especially in defining the Act’s Guiding Principles – Safety and Best interests – in practice, re-imagining residential care, and improving workforce quality.
$3.3m will be spent to continue to support the Finding Families and Additionally Approved Carer Programs. Grandcarers SA will receive additional support.
The Government's commitment to growing family-based care demonstrates CREATE and our Young Consultant, Kelvin was heard at the 2025 Economic and Finance Committee’s Home Care for Children and Young People Parliamentary Committee.
What this additional resourcing means
$85.1m over the next 4 years is an acknowledgment that children and young people in care must be provided with the resources to support their physical, emotional, intellectual and spiritual thriving. It can be used in part to support the participation of children and young people with lived experience in the delivery of the Children and Young People (Safety and Support) Act, 2025, in 2027. And it will support the implementation of the Act, which includes implementing the Aboriginal Child Placement Principle.
Further, the Government’s commitment to growing family-based care in South Australia is welcomed by CREATE as this model better meets children’s developmental and relational needs through continuity of relationships with carers.
Where more action is needed
The Government’s forward estimates show an intended decrease in budget funding to the Department of Child Protection (DCP) from a peak in 2027-2028. By 2029-2030, intended funding to DCP will be at levels less than this budget. The government explains that it expects DCP ‘services’ will be ‘delivered effectively and efficiently’ and so costs will be down. In the context of rising costs and inflationary pressures, CREATE calls on the Government to set ‘real costs’ as the standard and in future budgets, set funding allocations for DCP based on expected real care costs.
CREATE expresses disappointment that there is no money provided in this budget, or over the next 4 years, for greater transition supports for young people leaving care. All young people who transition to independence need secure housing, education pathways and access to health services. Young people leaving care are no different and are not being supported to transition to independence securely, which is the foundation of long-term life fulfilment. Additional funding is allocated in the budget for increased housing support; however, youth housing is not explicitly provided for and CREATE advocates for priority access to additional housing resources for young people transitioning from care. CREATE will continue to advocate for greater support and investment in this area.
“It’s a very emotional and frightening thing to do [transition from care], especially at a young age.” - Young person at a CREATE Foundation Youth Advisory Group in South Australia.
Other announcements
The Government has committed:
- $65m to ‘Better quality education’ initiatives, including for the roll out of an autism inclusion program
- $28m for new mental health assessment units. CREATE calls for children and young people with care experience to have priority access to mental health assessment
- $500,000 towards a new Backpack 4 Kids location
- $900 000 for junior fishing clinics across metropolitan Adelaide and regional communities. CREATE urges that an allocation from these funds supports the participation of children with care experience in the clinics.
Looking ahead
CREATE welcomes the Malinaukas’ Government’s additional $85.1m funding over the next 4 years, to provide the resources needed to care for children and young people in care, and to implement the Children and Young People (Safety and Support) Act, 2025. The implementation of the Act centres voices of children and young people in care, elevates the Aboriginal Child Placement Principles and supports stronger family connection.
CREATE stands ready to continue its participation in improving the child protection system for all children and young people in South Australia. We call for sustained funding that meets the actual costs of caring for children and young people so that they thrive in the present and into their futures.
CREATE calls on the Government to extend care to young people until they are 25. Many young South Australians live at home with their families at 25 and beyond. The Government holds a responsibility to ensure young people with care experience are feeling supported in their transition from care to independence.
